[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 6, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5017-S5018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION ACT OF 2017
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 44, S. 652.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 652) to amend the Public Health Service Act to
reauthorize a program for early detection, diagnosis, and
treatment regarding deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns,
infants, and young children.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill,
which had been reported from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions, with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause
and insert in lieu thereof the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Early Hearing Detection and
Intervention Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM FOR EARLY DETECTION,
DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT REGARDING DEAF AND
HARD-OF-HEARING NEWBORNS, INFANTS, AND YOUNG
CHILDREN.
(a) Section Heading.--The section heading of section 399M
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-1) is
amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 399M. EARLY DETECTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT
REGARDING DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING NEWBORNS,
INFANTS, AND YOUNG CHILDREN.''.
(b) Statewide Systems.--Section 399M(a) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-1(a)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Newborn and
Infant'' and inserting ``Newborn, Infant, and Young Child'';
(2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``newborn and infant'' and inserting
``newborn, infant, and young child''; and
(B) by striking ``providers,'' and inserting ``providers
(including, as appropriate, education and training of family
members),'';
(3) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the first sentence--
(i) by striking ``newborns and infants'' and inserting
``newborns, infants, and young children (referred to in this
section as `children')''; and
(ii) by striking ``and medical'' and all that follows
through the period and inserting ``medical, and communication
(or language acquisition) interventions (including family
support), for children identified as deaf or hard-of-hearing,
consistent with the following:'';
(B) in the second sentence--
(i) by striking ``Early'' and inserting the following:
``(A) Early'';
(ii) by striking ``and delivery of'' and inserting ``, and
delivery of,'';
(iii) by striking ``by schools'' and all that follows
through ``programs mandated'' and inserting ``by
organizations such as schools and agencies (including
community, consumer, and family-based agencies), in health
care settings (including medical homes for children), and in
programs mandated''; and
(iv) by striking ``hard of hearing'' and all that follows
through the period and inserting ``hard-of-hearing
children.''; and
(C) by striking the last sentence and inserting the
following:
``(B) Information provided to families should be accurate,
comprehensive, up-to-date, and evidence-based, as
appropriate, to allow families to make important decisions
for their children in a timely manner, including decisions
with respect to the full range of assistive hearing
technologies and communications modalities, as appropriate.
``(C) Programs and systems under this paragraph shall offer
mechanisms that foster family-to-family and deaf and hard-of-
hearing consumer-to-family supports.'';
(4) in paragraph (2), by striking ``To collect'' and all
that follows through the period and inserting ``To continue
to provide technical support to States, through one or more
technical resource centers, to assist in further developing
and enhancing State early hearing detection and intervention
programs.''; and
(5) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) To identify or develop efficient models (educational
and medical) to ensure that children who are identified as
deaf or hard-of-hearing through screening receive follow-up
by qualified early intervention providers or qualified health
care providers (including those at medical homes for
children), and referrals, as appropriate, including to early
intervention services under part C of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act. State agencies shall be
encouraged to effectively increase the rate of such follow-up
and referral.''.
(c) Technical Assistance, Data Management, and Applied
Research.--Section 399M(b)(1) of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-1(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--The Secretary'';
(B) by striking ``to complement an intramural program and''
and inserting the following: ``or designated entities of
States--
``(i) to develop, maintain, and improve data collection
systems related to newborn, infant, and young child hearing
screening, evaluation (including audiologic, medical, and
language acquisition evaluations), diagnosis, and
intervention services;'';
(C) by striking ``to conduct'' and inserting the following:
``(ii) to conduct''; and
(D) by striking ``newborn'' and all that follows through
the period and inserting the following: ``newborn, infant,
and young child hearing screening, evaluation, and
intervention programs and outcomes;
``(iii) to ensure quality monitoring of hearing screening,
evaluation, and intervention programs and systems for
newborns, infants, and young children; and
``(iv) to support newborn, infant, and young child hearing
screening, evaluation, and intervention programs, and
information systems.'';
(2) in the second sentence--
(A) by striking the matter that precedes subparagraph (A)
and all that follows through subparagraph (C) and inserting
the following:
``(B) Use of awards.--The awards made under subparagraph
(A) may be used--
``(i) to provide technical assistance on data collection
and management, including to coordinate and develop
standardized procedures for data management;
``(ii) to assess and report on the cost and program
effectiveness of newborn, infant, and young child hearing
screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems;
``(iii) to collect data and report on newborn, infant, and
young child hearing screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and
intervention programs and systems for applied research,
program evaluation, and policy improvement;'';
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (D), (E), and (F) as
clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively, and aligning the
margins of those clauses with the margins of clause (i) of
subparagraph (B) (as inserted by subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph);
(C) in clause (v) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B) of
this paragraph)--
(i) by striking ``newborn and infant'' and inserting
``newborn, infant, and young child''; and
(ii) by striking ``language status'' and inserting
``hearing status''; and
(D) in clause (vi) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B) of
this paragraph)--
(i) by striking ``sharing'' and inserting ``integration and
interoperability''; and
(ii) by striking ``with State-based'' and all that follows
through the period and inserting ``across multiple sources to
increase the flow of information between clinical care and
public health settings, including the ability of States and
territories to exchange and share data.''.
(d) Coordination and Collaboration.--Section 399M(c) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-1(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``consult with'' and inserting ``consult
with--'';
(B) by striking ``other Federal'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) other Federal'';
(C) by striking ``State and local agencies, including
those'' and inserting the following:
``(B) State and local agencies, including agencies'';
(D) by striking ``consumer groups of and that serve'' and
inserting the following:
[[Page S5018]]
``(C) consumer groups of, and that serve,'';
(E) by striking ``appropriate national'' and inserting the
following:
``(D) appropriate national'';
(F) by striking ``persons who are deaf and'' and inserting
the following:
``(E) individuals who are deaf or'';
(G) by striking ``other qualified'' and inserting the
following:
``(F) other qualified'';
(H) by striking ``newborns, infants, toddlers, children,''
and inserting ``children,'';
(I) by striking ``third-party'' and inserting the
following:
``(G) third-party''; and
(J) by striking ``related commercial'' and inserting the
following:
``(H) related commercial''; and
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by striking ``States to establish newborn and infant''
and inserting the following: ``States--
``(A) to establish newborn, infant, and young child'';
(B) by inserting a semicolon after ``subsection (a)''; and
(C) by striking ``to develop'' and inserting the following:
``(B) to develop''.
(e) Rule of Construction; Religious Accommodation.--Section
399M(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-
1(d)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``which'' and inserting ``that'';
(2) by striking ``newborn infants or young''; and
(3) by striking ``parents' '' and inserting ``parent's''.
(f) Definitions.--Section 399M(e) of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-1(e)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``(1)'' and all that follows through ``to
procedures'' and inserting the following:
``(1) The term `audiologic', when used in connection with
evaluation, means procedures--'';
(B) by striking ``to assess'' and inserting the following:
``(A) to assess'';
(C) by striking ``to establish'' and inserting the
following:
``(B) to establish'';
(D) by striking ``auditory disorder;'' and inserting
``auditory disorder,'';
(E) by striking ``to identify'' and inserting the
following:
``(C) to identify'';
(F) by striking ``options.'' and all that follows through
``linkage'' and inserting the following: ``options,
including--
``(i) linkage'';
(G) by striking ``appropriate agencies,'' and all that
follows through ``national'' and inserting the following:
``appropriate agencies;
``(ii) medical evaluation;
``(iii) assessment for the full range of assistive hearing
technologies appropriate for newborns, infants, and young
children;
``(iv) audiologic rehabilitation treatment; and
``(v) referral to national''; and
(H) by striking ``parent, and education'' and inserting
``parent, family, and education'';
(2) by striking paragraph (2);
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) as
paragraphs (2) through (5);
(4) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated by paragraph (3) of
this subsection)--
(A) by striking ``refers to providing'' and inserting the
following: ``means--
``(A) providing'';
(B) by striking ``with hearing loss, including nonmedical
services,'' and inserting ``who is deaf or hard-of-hearing,
including nonmedical services;'';
(C) by striking ``ensuring that families of the child are
provided'' and inserting the following:
``(B) ensuring that the family of the child is--
``(i) provided'';
(D) by striking ``language and communication options and
are given'' and inserting the following: ``language
acquisition in oral and visual modalities; and
``(ii) given''; and
(E) by striking ``their child'' and inserting ``the
child'';
(5) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by paragraph (3) of
this subsection), by striking ``(3)'' and all that follows
through ``decision making'' and inserting ``The term `medical
evaluation' means key components performed by a physician
including history, examination, and medical decisionmaking'';
(6) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by paragraph (3) of
this subsection)--
(A) by striking ``refers to'' and inserting ``means'';
(B) by striking ``and/or surgical'' and inserting ``or
surgical''; and
(C) by striking ``of hearing'' and all that follows through
``disorder'' and inserting ``for hearing loss or other
medical disorders''; and
(7) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated by paragraph (3) of
this subsection)--
(A) by striking ``(5)'' and all that follows through
``refers to'' and inserting ``(5) The term `newborn, infant,
and young child hearing screening' means''; and
(B) by striking ``and infants'' and inserting ``, infants,
and young children under 3 years of age''.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 399M(f) of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-1(f)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``such sums'' and all
that follows through the period and inserting ``$17,818,000
for fiscal year 2018, $18,173,800 for fiscal year 2019,
$18,628,145 for fiscal year 2020, $19,056,592 for fiscal year
2021, and $19,522,758 for fiscal year 2022.''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``such sums'' and all
that follows through the period and inserting ``$10,800,000
for fiscal year 2018, $11,026,800 for fiscal year 2019,
$11,302,470 for fiscal year 2020, $11,562,427 for fiscal year
2021, and $11,851,488 for fiscal year 2022.''.
Mr. GARDNER. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported
substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered
read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be
considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was
agreed to.
The bill (S. 652), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
____________________